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opy 1 



LOl'ISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION, ST. l,OfIS, 1901 



HORTICULTURE 
IN OREGON 



By HENRY E. DOSCH 




Pkixted irv Direction of the Lewis anij Ci,akk Centennial 
Exposition Commission/for the State of Oregon 



' II ■ ■ ■! 




; • yov. p r m 



LEWIS AND CLARK 



(entenniaf hxposUioti iommission 



FOR THE 



STATE OF OREGON 



OFFICERS: 



JEFFERSON MYERS, President 

WARREN E. THOMAS, Vice President 

EDMOND C. GILTNER, -------- Secretary 



MEMBERS 



Jefferson Myers, Portland 
W. E. Thomas, Portland 
Richard Scott, Milwaukie 
Frank A. Spencer, Portland 
G. Y. Harry, Portland 



F. G. Young, Eugene 
Geo. Conser, Heppner 
J. H. Albert, Salem 
Frank Williams, Ashland 
J. C. Flanders, Portland 



Dr. Day Raffety, Portland 



Note.— Any further information desired in reference to Oregon can be 
had by addressing any officer of this Commission. If such information 
is not at hand, your inquiry will be referred to the proper party. 

JEFFERSON MYERS, President. 



Horticulture in Oregon. 



weimouiiTTOE m owmm. 

"The law of nature is that a certain quantity of woi'k is neces- 
sary to produce a certain quantity of good of any kind, whatever. 
If you want knowledge, you must toil for it; if food, you must toil 
for it, and if pleasure, you must toil for it."— Ruskin. 

Oregon, the State of plenty, and which has long- since earned the 
sobriquet as the "Land of Red Apples," is nothing if not an horticul- 
tural State. All fruits, including the tender olive, do exceedingly 
well here. In Oregon the planter can not only find the localities best 
suited to the different varieties of fruits, but in addition, has his choice 
as to climate. He may select Eastern Oregon, with its extreme sea- 
sons; Southern Oregon tempts him with its enchanting valleys, clear 
skies, and balmy air. Then there is the Willamette Valley, of two 
hundred miles or more in length, with its equable climate throughout 
the year; or if fond of sea breezes, the various valleys along our sea 
coast line. Oregon, therefore, offers an inviting field for the orchardist. 

The first thought that enters one's mind is, "What is horticulture'?" 
If we look into Webster's Dictionary, we find "the art of cultivating 
gardens and orchards," and a horticulturist is "one who is skilled in 
the art of cultivating gardens and orchards." If we look into the 
Encyclopaedia Brittanica we find "horticulture embraces the art and 
science of the cultivation of flowers, fruit, and vegetables. " Please 
note the emphasis placed on the words "art and science," the subject 
being treated from a scientific and practical standpoint. But does it 
not mean more'? When the Creator of this universe laid out the Gar- 
den of Eden and planted trees for ornament, as well as fruit, he placed 
therein the first couple and intended them to be horticulturists; they 
were happy as long as they remained in their country home. But in 
an evil hour, they left it, and ever since man has striven to place those 
who were given him to love and care for in a similar Garden of Eden. 
Perhaps nowhere on earth do they come so near to it as here in Oregon. 

The arid lands of the vast Inland Empire, located east of the Cas- 
cade range of mountains, and especially along the canons and flat areas 
of the Snake River, which were heretofore considered only fit to grow 
sagebrush and grease wood, and the home of the jack rabbit and toad, 
has proven wonderfully fertile under irrigation and under the manage- 
ment of progressive, up-to-date farmers and fruit growers. Canals 



Horticulture in Oregon. 3 

have been dug- varying in length from twelve to thirty miles, covering- 
thousands of acres of these lands, which are now being brought into 
cultivation. I have repeatedly visited these regions, especially along 
Snake River, and seen the transformation of a desert into an oasis. 
Hundreds of acres had been sown to alfalfa, with surprising success, 
with an average yield of seven tons of hay per acre for the season. On 
one of these ranches is an orchard covering two hundred acres planted 
to peaches, apples, pears, and prunes, now in full bearing, in a most 
perfect condition, both as to health, vigor, luxuriance of foliage, and 
bearing capacity. It is almost beyond belief what water, under the 
control of intelligent endeavor, will produce on these soils. The alfalfa 
is fed to hogs, calves, and steers for the markets, thus bringing in a 
ready cash revenue to meet expenses, while the orchard is slowly but 
surely growing into a revenue producing fact. Along these benches 
is room for thousands of happy and contented homes, amid plenty to 
eat and drink, and pure, invigorating, health-giving air to breathe. 
Finer fruits and melons are not grown anywhere than right here. 
Grapes measuring ten inches to the bunch, with berries as large as 
marbles; in fact the bunch of grapes which won the gold medal at the 
World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago was grown near Snake 
River. 

The beautiful Grand Ronde, Wallowa, Burnt River, Powder River, 
Eagle Creek, and numerous smaller valleys scattered throughout these 
higher plateaus, and Blue Mountains, as well as the Hood River Val- 
ley, along the Columbia River, and which do not depend on irrigation, 
are most fertile spots for the fruit grower, especially the rolling foot- 
hills. Perhaps nowhere do apples, pears, cherries, and prunes grow 
to greater perfection as to size, flavor, and color, than in these valleys. 
A paper was recently read at a Farmers' Institute held at LaGrande, 
in which the writer said: "At Cove (the garden spot of the Grand 
Ronde Valley) and here at LaGrande, instances have been reported 
and verified where over five hundred dollars have been received for 
the product of a single acre of Jacunda strawberries, while there is 
no place under the sun where red raspberries do better than here." 
He considers the apple, pear, and cherry the most profitable fruits for 
that locality. The fruits grown there, on account of the high eleva- 
tion and climatic influences, have peculiar keeping qualities ; the 
cherries, owing to the absence of rain in the ripening season, do not 
crack open, and by reason of so much sunshine color highly, come into 
market late and consequently always bring remunerative prices. The 



4 Horticulture in Oregon. 

Hood River Val] ey and foothills have become especially famous for their 
apples and strawberries, and many acres are gradually planted into 
orchards. The soil of this valley seems peculiarly adapted to the pro- 
duction of large, sound, highly-colored apples of fine flavor and long 
keeping qualities. It is the boast of the apple growers of that district 
to produce nothing but first-class fruit, by thorough care of trees and 
fruit, and succeeding in this, they receive the highest prices for their 
fruit. The Hood River apple crop for 1903 amounted to 50,000 boxes 
of 40 pounds per box, which sold at an average price of $1.25 per box; 
while last fall the whole crop of Spitzenburg apples was sold under 
contract at $2, and Yellow Newtown Pippin apples at $1.80 per box, 
f. o. b. at picking time. It is estimated that not one-tenth of the 
available ground adapted to apple growing is planted. The Hood 
River strawberry yield for 1903 was about ninety thousand 24-pound 
crates, and sold at $150,000 in round figures. The average yield per 
acre is from one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and fifty 
crates, while frequently some especially favorably located plantation 
produces from three hundred to even five hundred crates per acre. 
These strawberries are shipped in refrigerator cars and find a market 
in Montana, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, the Dakotas, and 
Manitoba, while the apples are generally shipped to England, France, 
and Germany. 

Southern Oregon, with its decomposed granite soils, as found in the 
Rogue River and Umpqua valleys, offers the same advantages for hor- 
ticulture, and at no distant day will be a veritable paradise for the 
fruit grower. Its soils are naturally very rich in all the plant foods 
necessary to produce excellent fruit, combined with a climate unsur- 
passed anywhere in this fair land of ours. The vast mining districts 
of this section, which are fast assuming large proportions, will furnish 
a very good local market for the small grower, while most commercial 
growers will prefer to ship their products to the East, England, Ger- 
many, and France, where these fruits have found a very profitable 
market. To illustrate: several years ago I was shown a letter by one 
of our commission houses at Portland, which had shipped the fruit for 
the grower, from the Hon. William T. Grinnell, American Consul at 
Manchester, England, stating in a lot of apples received from Oregon, 
and on sale at that city, placards were found on which was printed 
" Rogue River Apples, from the orchard of C. Kleinhammer, Phoenix, 
Oregon," saying that finer fruit had never been exhibited in that 
market, and the dealers wanted to secure the output for another year. 



Horticulture in Oregon. 5 

Thus showing- what these valleys can produce, and which opened an- 
other and unlimited market for the wide awake fruit grower. Intelli- 
gent endeavor, honest packing, brains, and application of business 
principles, which hereafter must be adopted in order to be successful 
in horticultural pursuits, has its own reward. Peaches, apples, pears, 
prunes, walnuts, almonds, chestnuts, filberts, grapes, and watermelons 
grow in great abundance. The Rogue River Valley, which is, in re- 
spect to soil and climate, like the famous Burgundy Valley of France, 
is the place par excellence for the growing of wine grapes. There is 
no good reason why the hillsides of that productive valley should not 
be covered with vineyards. Grapes of as good quality as those grown 
in California, France, or Germany can be produced in that valley. 

The great and beautiful Willamette Valley does, and always did, 
grow fine fruits, and is the oldest settled part of Oregon. True, these 
fruits have not the keeping qualities, owing to its humid climate, of 
those raised in the more dry localities and higher altitudes, but for 
size, color, and flavor are not excelled anywhere, besides having the 
advantage of nearness to the large local markets of our cities, as well 
as cheaper railroad and ocean transportation to the markets of the 
world. Here flourish the apple, pear, prune, cherry, peach, apricot, 
walnut, almond, chestnut, all the small bush fruits in great abun- 
dance, and grapes galore. That grapes do well in Oregon is evidenced 
by the fact that there are small vineyards in every part of the State, 
but I know of only a few commercial vineyards in Oregon, which are 
located on the red hills in Washington County some twenty-five miles 
from Portland. These vineyards comprise a total of eighty -four acres. 
Every year these vines are loaded down with large bunches of the 
choicest grapes — each vine or stalk yielding from fifty to one hundred 
pounds. These sell from twenty-five to forty dollars per ton. When 
the owners of these vineyards came to Oregon, not many years ago, 
they were in very modest circumstances. They had to clear the land 
and plant it to grapes, and now are all well to do. I have been in the 
vineyards of Germany, France, and California, but have never seen 
such an abundance of grapes as these Forest Grove vines bear from 
year to year, nor have I tasted grapes of finer quality. The principal 
varieties grown for table use are Moore's Diamond, Niagara, Worden, 
Sweetwater, lone, Delaware, and Hamburg, and for wine making or 
unfermented grape juice the Riesling, Gut-Edel, Burgundy, Muscat, 
and Zinfandell. Jn this connection it may be stated that at the various 
great expositions held in America we have exhibited the various 



Horticulture in Oregon. 7 

kinds of wine. These wines came into direct competition with similar 
brands from other States. Much to my surprise, the jury awarded us the 
highest medal and diploma for excellence, fineness, aroma or bouquet, 
as it is generally called, smoothness, and for the absence of that pun- 
gent and alcoholic taste so pronounced in wines grown elsewhere, nota- 
bly in Zinfandell. I said it was a surprise to me, and yet it should not 
have been, for I know that our soil and climatic conditions, especially 
of the foothills on both sides of the Willamette Valley, are identical 
to those of that part of the Rhine in Germany where the finest of wines 
are produced. Upon further investigation I learned from the growers 
that it is owing to our humidity and cool nights which makes the skin 
thinner and has a general tendency to produce the good effects spoken 
of above. In another very essential respect our wines resemble the 
fine Rhine wines, that they improve with age; the older they get the 
better they are and finer the bouquet. 

The beautiful and fertile little valleys along our coast line are all 
more or less adapted to fruit growing, especially the apple. One pro- 
gressive experimenter has even now fruiting acres of the tender olive. 
A little enterprise and energy will accomplish wonders in horticulture 
and viticulture in Oregon. 

However, there is one enterprise which does not have the attention 
it deserves, and that is the growing of nut-bearing trees. I have been 
advocating the planting of nut-bearing trees, more particularly the 
English walnut, or more correctly speaking, the French walnut, as the 
other is simply a commercial term, for many years. While a number 
of small plantings have been made, there is only one on a commercial 
scale, consisting of forty acres of walnuts and chestnuts, hence there 
is practically an unoccupied field, which promises as good returns as 
any other kind of fruit by way of intensive and diversified farming. 
This is now well recognized and understood in the East, since the 
wild nut-bearing trees, which grew so plentifully, have been cut down 
wastefully and used for posts, fences, and firewood. The scarcity has 
become so marked that attention has been called to it by the trade, 
and many new plantings are now being made. When I first planted 
my own, in order to thoroughly satisfy myself as to the adaptability of 
our soils and various climatic conditions, I gave away over two hun- 
dred yearling trees of my own growing. I sent them to friends in 
various parts of this State— to Eastern Oregon, Southern Oregon, the 
coast counties, the Willamette Valley, and even to the Sound counties 
of Washington — and the reports received have been most gratifying. 



8 Horticulture in Oregon. 

Some of these trees have in eight years' time grown to twenty feet in 
height, with a spreading top of fourteen feet, and measured eleven 
inches in diameter four feet from the ground. They have proven most 
indifferent as to location or soil, whether on clay, loam, or gravel, and 
even on rocky ground, provided there is a loose subsoil for the taproot 
to go down. It is perfectly useless to plant nut-bearing trees where 
there is hardpan subsoil. These eight year old trees averaged twenty 
pounds of fine walnuts, which sold at ten cents per pound, bringing $2 
to the tree. 

Here is a line of fruit growing which offers good inducements, and 
now that it has been proven that nuts of excellent quality not only 
grow, but mature well in this State, more plantings should be made, 
so Oregon may become an exporter, instead of importer, of all kinds 
of nuts. They begin to bear when six years old, and from that time 
on they are a source of revenue. They seldom fail to bear enough 
fruit to pay for the labor and expense of taking care of them and 
gathering the crop. Growers should be careful to plant only such 
varieties as are known to be suited to our climatic conditions. The 
varieties of walnuts recommended are the Franquette and Mayette, 
which is known to the trade as Grenoble : of chestnuts, the Spanish, 
Italian, Numbo, and Paragon ; almonds, Grosse Tendre, or Languedoc, 
for Northwestern and Eastern Oregon, and the I. X. L., Princess, and 
Nonpariel for Southern Oregon. Filberts, do exceedingly well here — 
the Duchally, Aveline, and English cobnut are best. 

Reynolds, the great horticulturist, writes: "The farm is a good 
place on which to be born, on which to live through one's prime work, 
on which to die." Sometimes it happens that one who has spent his 
boyhood on a farm may, when he comes to struggle for himself, stray 
away to town and engage in one of the numerous avocations which 
men there pursue for a livelihood. However successful he may prove 
in business in town, there comes a time, as old age approaches, when 
his thoughts turn back to his earlier life in the country, its independ- 
ence, its calm, healthful enjoyments amid scenes and products of 
nature, and he feels a strong, overmastering desire to spend his later 
years and die in the country, on the bosom of the great mother of us 
all, generous, teeming earth. 

When President Jefferson warned us that America would degen- 
erate as soon as it ceased to be an agricultural and horticultural 
Nation, he touched the keynote, for he foresaw the coming greed for 
money; that fearful fight for political power, which seems to have 



Horticulture in Oregon. 9 

reached its height just now; that getting something for nothing, and 
that struggle for social position and prominence. 

It is said that John Ruskin "somewhere marveled at the wonderful 
conception of God's mind, when he first thought of a tree." 

There could have been no paradise for man without trees. He 
caused to grow those trees that were pleasant to the eye as well as good 
for fruit. Just fancy what this world would be without trees. There 
is an inseparable companionship between trees and man not readily 
accounted for, and there are few men who lack the desire to plant and 
surround themselves with trees. I can not conceive a perfect home 
devoid of trees. What is more beautiful to the eye than a well laid 
out and perfectly kept orchard ? 

Horticulture is no longer an experiment in Oregon. The inces- 
sant drudgery, the numerous and keen disappointments which are 
peculiar to all new enterprises, and which horticulture in Oregon did 
not escape, are things of the past. We have reached the era of 
scientific management of the orchard, and of remunerative prices for 
the product. 

Fruit growing is not only a healthy and pleasant occupation, but a 
profitable one. It has been proven, year after year, that those who 
have fruit to sell, whether it was raised alone or in connection with 
other crops, always have money to meet their obligations. It is stated 
on reliable authority (Bradstreet's Commercial Agency) that through- 
out the United States there are fewer failures among those engaged 
in horticultural pursuits than any other branch of farming, and then 
the question is asked, "Is it owing to the business, or the men that 
engage in it?" I think it is both, especially the latter, for it requires 
brains to be a successful horticulturist. Horticulture is an art of the 
highest order. The planter must keep abreast of the times ; he must 
study and keep posted on the latest improved appliances. 

Though fruit has been grown in Oregon for fifty years, it is only 
recently that horticulture was reduced to a scientific basis. The 
backwardness, which was the ruling condition until a short time ago, 
was due to a lack of knowledge about tree planting and fruit growing. 
Very few growers were thoroughly equipped for the business in which 
they had invested their capital, and were it not for the fact "that 
crops in Oregon never fail," many more disappointments would have 
to be recorded. The State took horticulture in hand, and now sup- 
plies an abundance of practical information to all who care to ask for 
it. This information is distributed through the members of the State 



Horticulture in Oregon. 11 

Board of Horticulture, of which body I had the honor to be a member 
for twelve years past, and the faculty of the Agricultural College. 
There now exists no reason for failure because of the absence of use- 
ful information about soils, stock selection, tree planting-, cultivation, 
pruning-, and the science of pollination. Progressive horticulture 
does wonders. It makes the old trees bear fruit again, and gives the 
young ones a good start from the time they are set out. 

Horticulture, as we understand it, is no longer the problem it was, 
thanks to the scientific investigations of the professors of the experi- 
ment stations throughout the world, and to practical, up-to-date fruit 
growers. We know the soils best adapted for various fruits, the best 
varieties to plant for family use and commercial purposes, and know 
how to evaporate them. We also know what varieties to plant to- 
gether for pollinating purposes. We know the diseases and insects 
infecting trees and fruit, and how to combat them. 

Failure and discouragement in horticulture often result from too 
much real estate booming. Glowing accounts of this or that locality 
are published, fruits of abnormal size are exhibited, ridiculous results 
are given, all of which creates the impression that horticulture, in 
certain localities, is a veritable gold mine. Credulous persons, 
tempted by these stories and exhibits, give up occupations in which 
they are experienced, and take to fruit raising, of which they know 
nothing. With them failure is only a matter of time, unless they 
have a large bank account. Horticulture is a special work and applied 
science. In it expectations are never realized without painstaking 
work and trying patience. No one should think of going into it when 
the main inducement is an enormous profit figured out on paper. 
There are growers in Oregon who have made very large profits in a 
single year. In some years all have done exceedingly well, but, gen- 
erally speaking, it is not safe to count on a net profit of more than $150 
per acre in ordinary years for an orchard in full bearing. This result, 
small as it may seem to the uninitiated, will come only to those who go 
into the business understanding^, give it their best thoughts and 
care, manage the fruit farm as they would any other business venture, 
and keep abreast of the times. The failure of those who had no ade- 
quate knowledge of fruit growing, and who under the same circum- 
stances would have failed in any other enterprise, need not discourage 
any who intend to embark in horticulture. The number who have 
failed is very small in comparison to the number who have succeeded. 
No State offers such excellent advantages as Oregon does. There need 



12 Horticulture in Oregon. 

be no fear of overproduction. The consumption of fruits increases 
every year, and there is ready sale for all first-class fruits put on the 
market. The enlarged use of fruit is due to two important factors : 

First — For several years past our fresh and evaporated fruits have 
reached the mining and manufacturing centers never reached before, 
and within the homes of families which, where exorbitant prices were 
the rule, could not afford to buy fruit, and in extent an almost unlim- 
ited foreign market, especially for our superior apples. It is well 
known that the apple is to the fruits what the potato is to the vege- 
table line, — wherever once introduced it is there to stay. 

Second— The doctors, aided by the medical press, are strongly ad- 
vocating the consumption of fruits to promote health, not only in 
America, but abroad. 

Doctor Bentzer, of Germany, the noted specialist, and Dr. Sophie 
Lepper, the great English food specialist, give their emphatic indorse- 
ment of fruit as hygienic agents. Doctor Bentzer dwells particularly 
on the apple, and declares that an apple eaten immediately before bed- 
time will promote general health ; its dietical as well as alimentary 
substances are of the highest order ; it contains more phosphoric acid 
in an easily digestible combination than any other vegetable product. 
While Dr. Sophie Lepper says: "Apples supply the higher nerve and 
muscle food, but do not give stay: prunes afford the highest nerve 
and brain food, supply heat and waste, but are not muscle feeding; 
walnuts give nerve and brain food, muscle, heat, and waste." What 
a happy combination, apples, prunes, and walnuts. 

The era of high, exorbitant prices has past, and we do not want 
it to return, for when prices advance consumption decreases, which is 
not desirable. It has been demonstrated time and again that prunes 
at four cents a pound, and apples and pears at seventy-five cents a box 
of forty pounds, the lowest price ever paid for merchantable fruit, will 
net the grower one hundred to one hundred and fifty dollars an acre 
for an orchard in full bearing ; while we know that good choice mar- 
ketable apples and c« pears for export trade sell from one dollar to two 
dollars per box. It could stand a considerable reduction from the 
first figures named and still leave horticulture more profitable than 
other agricultural pursuits. 

While waiting for his orchard to bear, which usually takes from 
five to eight years, the orchardist has an avenue of profit opened to 
him in the growing and marketing of small fruits. The demand for 
strawberries, currants, gooseberries, raspberries, and blackberries for 



Horticulture in Oregon. 13 

home consumption, for export, and for canning- establishments is very- 
large, and is seldom met by the supply. Many carloads of these fruits, 
especially strawberries, as stated heretofore, are shipped every year 
to the mining- and stock raising districts of Idaho, Montana, North and 
South Dakota, and Wyoming. Shipments of these berries are often 
made to St. Paul and Omaha; yes, even to Chicago, yielding most 
gratifying results. If the small fruits are given proper care and sent 
to the market in good condition, they bring in sufficient money to meet 
the family expenses. Even after the orchard begins to bear there is 
nothing to prevent the orchardist from having two crops — berries in 
the spring and early summer, and tree fruit in the fall; thus dividing 
the labor and at the same time doubling the profit. In some parts of 
Oregon orchardists plant beans between the rows of young trees. This 
crop yields a net profit of from twenty to thirty dollars per acre. 

Horticulture on a large scale offers exceptionally fine opportunities. 
An orchard conducted on this plan is termed a commercial orchard, of 
which we have a number in Southern and Eastern Oregon, principally 
growing apples, and but few growing exclusively pears. One com- 
mercial apple orchard shipped eighty carloads of Yellow Newtown and 
Jonathan apples to Europe alone. Prune orchards vary from five to 
twenty acres, and are to be found in all parts of the State. 

A noted agriculturist said that "most farmers who have been raised 
on a farm know how to do good farming. They know how to save and 
apply manure ; how to mellow the stubborn soil with plow, harrow, 
and cultivator; know the value of good seed, the proper time to sow, 
and the quantity required. They understand the necessary drainage ; 
the rotation of crops, and green manuring. Most farmers know how 
to do good farming, but they do not farm so well as they know how. 
Why don't they farm as well as they know how? They lack the proper 
pride. They have too little ambition." What has been said here of 
farming in general applies with equal force to horticulture. Ambition 
is the vital force which prompts great deeds and moves the world. 
How to excite this enthusiasm and put this power into action is a ques- 
tion to be considered and solved by the progressive orchardist. In 
these days of push and advancement one of the principal essentials to 
success is the ability to do the right thing at the right time. This 
ability is absolutely necessary for the success of every one. It mani- 
fests itself in the individual by keen perception, sound judgment, prac- 
tical knowledge of business, enthusiasm, and a determination to profit 
by every opportunity that presents itself. Lord Beaconsfield said, 



Horticulture in Oregon. 15 

"The great secret of success in life is 'to be ready when the opportunity 
comes." 

I have said that fruit growing is not only healthful, but more profit- 
able than any other agricultural pursuit, and while it is conceded that 
all the various fruits can be grown to perfection in Oregon, the highest 
success can only be obtained by the intelligent, painstaking orchardist. 
The man who thinks that all that is necessary, even -in this favored 
State, is to scratch the ground, throw in his trees in a haphazard way, 
with an occasional plowing or harrowing, and let it go at that, will 
soon find himself very much undeceived. Brains are as essential on 
the farm and in the orchard as in the office or counting room. When 
Meissonier, the great French artist, was asked how he succeeded in 
painting such beautiful pictures, replied: "I mix my colors with 
brains." The way lies through intelligent investigation of markets 
and methods, the application of brains to the agricultural and horti- 
cultural problems. We must study to please the tastes and notions of 
the world's consumers, and must avail ourselves of the researches of 
the biologist, the bacteriologist, the entomologist, and the investiga- 
tions of the expert in crops and market conditions. Uninformed and 
unenlightened labor is at a great disadvantage these days of sharp 
trading and scientific adaptation of means to ends. 

ESTIMATED COST OF AN ORCHARD. 

For some years past a great demand has been made by parties who 
contemplate planting orchards for information as to the cost of plant- 
ing an orchard and getting it into bearing condition, and the income 
to be expected during that period. I had taken steps to obtain as much 
reliable information as possible on the subject. Many of our oldest, 
conservative and most reliable fruit growers were asked to give the 
cost and product of their orchards up to the eighth year. It will be 
seen from the estimates given that the cost and product varies consid- 
erably. This is accounted for by the fact that the price of land varies 
according to location and its condition when bought, and in some cases 
there is additional expense caused by subsoiling, more thorough pre- 
paration of the soil before planting, more careful selection of trees, 
more thorough cultivation and spraying, while some allow a certain 
percentage of loss of trees and an occasional off year. Yet, by mak- 
ing due allowance for drawbacks, exercising the proper judgment in 
the selection of soil for the varieties to be planted, and giving the 
proper treatment to the orchard from the time it is-planted, it will be 



16 Horticulture in Oregon. 

seen that an orchard is a safe and profitable investment. Carelessness 
in any branch will not pay in orchard work. Business principles must 
be employed in every department. The following estimates include 
the cost up to the seventh year, or when the trees have six years bear- 
ing wood, and are from various sections of Oregon : 

Cost of a Peach Orchard near Ashland. 

By Max Pracht, Ashland, Southern Oregon. 

As regards the cost and care to the age of seven years, I beg to say 
that my own experience as to the cost is not a true criterion, from the 
fact that for five years after setting out, my orchard was cared for by 
persons employed by me, but working under my orders, while I was 
engaged in other occupations. I will give, however, a very nearly 
accurate estimate of the cost of a peach orchard, taking the ground 
in the brush and until it comes to profitable bearing, which, by my 
method of cutting back is not until the fifth year after setting out, or, 
say six years from the bud. Good peach soil is light, porous, snarly, 
warm, and easily cultivated land, neither springy nor boggy, such as 
our decomposed granite, and must be on a sloping hillside, with an 
exposure to any point of the compass, except due west, or proportion- 
ately such as near west from north to south. The best range is from 
northwest to south, at least such is my experience here. Having 
selected the location, choosing — 

Land, per acre $100 00 

Cost of cleaning and grubbing, per acre__ 30 00 

Cost of plowing and subsoiling, per acre 5 00 

Cost of laying out and digging holes, per acre 8 00 

Cost of trees and setting out "20 00 

Cost of pruning and shaping first year 1 00 

Cost of fencing orchard must be added, varying with the 

style of fence, size and shape of orchard, estimated at- 16 00 

Total cost at end of first year $180 00 

SECOND YEAR. 

Amount forward " $180 00 

Plowing, cultivating, and pruning, per acre 10 00 

Replacing sickly or ill-shapen trees, per acre 2 00 

Digging for and exterminating borers, per acre 1 00 

Interest at ten per cent on $180 18 00 

Total cost end of second year $211 00 



Horticulture in Oregon. 17 

third year. 

Amount forward $211 00 

Plowing - , cultivating - , and pruning, per acre 10 00 

Replacing- sickly trees, per acre 1 00 

Digging - borers 1 00 

Interest at ten per cent on $211 21 00 

Total cost end of third year $244 00 

FOURTH YEAR. 

Amount forward $244 00 

Plowing, cultivating, and pruning, per acre 10 00 

Digging borers _- 1 00 

Interest at ten per cent on $244 24 40 

Total cost end of fourth year $279 40 

FIFTH YEAR. 

Amount forward $279 40 

Plowing, cultivating, and pruning, per acre 10 00 

Digging borers and slack liming 5 00 

Hand thinning fruit ■. 1 00 

Interest on $279 I 27 90 

Total cost end of fifth year $323 30 

We now have as the cost per acre of an orchard of not less than 
ten acres and in perfect condition, at the end of the fifth year, the 
first year of market bearing, $323.30. 

These trees should produce each an average of twenty pounds of 
marketable fruit, worth here not less than two and one-half cents per 
pound and up to four and one-half cents, say fifty cents per tree, one 
hundred and sixty to the acre, $80; culls and scrubs for home con- 
sumption, $10; total revenue at the end of first year, age of orchard 
five years, $90. 

From this time on the annual increase of productive capacity may 
be rated at one box or twenty pounds per tree to the eighth year, 
when an orchard in prime condition should mature an average of 
eighty pounds or four boxes per tree; and with trees one rod apart, 
properly dwarfed, this output should not be exceeded, so as to conserve 
the vigor and life of the tree; by which method in this locality a 
peach tree is good for twenty years of profitable life, and will bring at 
least two dollars per year. From these estimates of cost, any one can 



18 Horticulture in Oregon. 

figure out the progressive cost of maintaining the orchard, figuring 
out the net profit at the end of each season. I have purposely left out 
the items of taxes, as they vary so much, but are not high. 

During the fourth year, though no income from sale of fruit is 
shown,- there will be enough peaches, which may be safely left on the 
trees, for home consumption. The cost of picking, packing, and mar- 
keting is not shown in the estimate, because the price named, i. e., two 
and one-half cents per pound, is a price at which prime fruit is always 
salable on the tree to first-class buyers who will harvest and market 
on their own account. 

Cost of an Apple Orchard out near Grants Pass. 

By A . H. Carson, Grants Pass, Southern Oregon. 

We have found in fifteen years' experience the following to be the 
cost of planting and caring for an orchard up to the seventh year. 
Apples — one acre: 

DR. 

To plowing and preparing ground $ 3 00 

To 69 trees two years old at twelve and one-half cents 

each, 25x25 feet apart 8 63 

To one days work planting and laying off ground 2 00 

To cultivating and pruning seven years at $6 42 00 

Total cost on one acre to seventh year $ 55 63 

CR. 

By 69 boxes of apples at fifty cents up to seventh year.. 34 40 

Net cost per acre $ 21 23 

It is seen from the foregoing, the profits of an apple orchard up to 
the seventh year are on the wrong side of the account, but we now 
have it at the age when it will begin to pay. The eighth year, if the 
trees are in good ground, they should produce four boxes of apples to 
the tree. As the orchard increases in age the expense of cultivation, 
spraying, and pruning increases ; but if the orchard is cared for each 
year the maximum cost for cultivation, spraying, and pruning, will 
not be greater any year than $10 per acre. Then the maximum pro- 
duction of the orchard each year is hard to estimate, but after an 
apple orchard is nine years old, one year with another, the average 
production would not be less than ten boxes per tree, or six hundred 
and ninety boxes to the acre. (A box of apples contains one bushel.) 



Horticulture in Oregon. 19 

Cost of a Prune Orchard in Polk County. 

By James R. Sheppard, Zena, Willamette Valley, West Side. 

I estimate the cost of ten acres planted to prunes, twenty feet apart, 
under ordinary conditions, as follows : 

DR. 

Eleven hundred yearling trees (110 per acre) at 6 cents. _$ 66 00 

Preparation of land — plowing- and cultivation 20 00 

Setting out eleven hundred trees at 1 cent each 11 00 

Cultivation and care, first year* 

Cultivation and care, second year* 

Cultivation and care, third year (no other crop) 30 00 

Cultivation and care fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh years 120 00 

Total cost $247 00 

CR. 

Fourth year, one-third bushel of prunes per tree at 60 

cents per bushel $220 00 

Fifth year, one-half bushel of prunes per tree at 60 cents 

per bushel 1 330 00 

Which gradually increases until the eighth year, when the trees 
are in full bearing and will yield from two to three bushels of prunes 
per tree. 

In some instances these figures will be doubled, in others reduced. 
It will be observed my estimates are very conservative, and no one 
need do worse, provided he uses ordinary care and judgment ; but very 
much depends on location, soil, etc. I think a net profit — after seven 
years of age— of $100 per acre is not at all an extravagant estimate at 
present prices, say five cents per pound, evaporated prunes. An oc- 
casional off year must be reckoned, say one in four for Italian prunes, 
and one in eight for Petites, or French prunes. Estimates of $300 to 
$500 per acre are misleading. I think, though, much better has occa- 
sionally been done under very high prices and favorable conditions. 

My estimate presupposes proper pruning. Where land is well culti- 
vated, but no pruning is done, a bushel per tree the fourth year may 
be cancelled, but the tree is injured thereby. 



* No charge for cultivation and care first and second years, as it is more than 
offset by potato or bean crops raised between the rows in those years. 



Horticulture in Oregon. 21 

Cost of a Prune Orchard near Salem. 

By R. D. Allen, Silverton, Willamette Valley, East Side. 

FIRST YEAR. 

Cost of trees, per acre $ 10 00 

Planting same 3 00 

Plowing- ground, one foot deep, and subsoiling eight inches 4 00 

Harrowing and cultivating, eight times 2 40 

Hoeing around trees 60 

Total cost first year $ 20 00 

SECOND YEAR. 

Interest on land at $50 per acre at ten per cent $ 5 00 

Interest on previous year's expenses, at ten per cent 2 00 

Plowing 1 3 00 

Harrowing and cultivating, eight times 2 40 

Hoeing around trees 60 

Pruning and removing borers 1 00 

Total cost second year $ 14 00 

THIRD YEAR. 

Interest on land $ 5 00 

Interest on expenses 3 40 

Plowing 3 00 

Harrowing and cultivating, eight times 2 40 

Hoeing around trees 1 00 

Pruning and removing borers 1 50 

Total cost third year $ 16 30 

FOURTH YEAR. 

Interest on land $ 5 00 

Interest on expenses 5 00 

Plowing 3 00' 

Harrowing and cultivating, eight times 2 40 

Hoeing around trees 1 00 

Pruning and removing borers 2 00 

Total cost fourth year_. . ___$ 18 40 

FIFTH YEAR. 

Interest on land $ 5 00 

Interest on expenses 6 87 



22 Horticulture in Oregon. 

Plowing..: 3 00 

Harrowing and cultivating, eight times 2 40 

Hoeing around trees 1 00 

Pruning and removing borers 2 00 

Total cost fifth year $ 20 27 

Total cost for five years $ 88 97 

The above is without first cost of land, and taxes being included. 

Cost of an Orchard near Newberg. 

By C. E. Hoskins, Springbrook, Tualatin Plains. 

Much depends on the location, quality of soil, and tools used in 
planting, cultivating, etc., of orchards as handled in Oregon. The 
difference between the owner and hired help would in many cases be 
twenty-five per cent. 

EXPENSE BILL PER ACRE. 

Plowing, subsoiling, cultivating, etc. $ 7 50 

Trees, planting, cultivating, etc 16 00 

Second year, cultivating 5 00 

Third year, cultivation, trimming trees, etc 6 00 

Fourth year, cultivation, trimming trees, etc 7 00 

Fifth year, cultivation, trimming, etc 8 00 

Sixth year, cultivation, trimming, etc ■ 8 00 

Seventh year, cultivation, trimming, etc 8 00 

Eighth year, cultivation, trimming, etc 8 00 

Total ' $ 74 00 

AMOUNT OF FRUIT FROM ONE HUNDRED TREES. 
APPLES, PEARS, ETC. 

Fifth year '_ 1,500 pounds 

Sixth year 3,000 pounds 

•Seventh year 6,000 to 9,000 pounds 

Eighth year 12,000 to 15,000 pounds 

PRUNES, PLUMS, ETC. 

Fourth year 1, 000 pounds 

Fifth year 3,000 pounds 

Sixth year 6,000 pounds 

Seventh year 9,000 pounds 

Eighth year 12,000 pounds 

The above is without the original cost of land, interest, taxes, loss 
of trees, etc. 



Horticulture in Oregon. 23 

Cost of an Orchard in Grand Ronde Valley. 

By James Hendershott, Cove, Eastern Oregon. 

I can only approximate the cost, as I have never kept an expense 
bill. After planting, five cents per tree will cover all expenses up to 
four years old. After trees are four years old, they will yield a profit 
to the grower. My prune trees are now twelve years old. They aver- 
aged this year 280 pounds. Peach plums, same age, averaged 326 
pounds. Apples, same age, averaged 490 pounds. 

The man who asserts his prunes produce 1,000 pounds to the tree 
exaggerates for what money there is in it. If apples can be kept sound, 
they will pay one hundred per cent more than prunes. 

Cost of an Apple Orchard in Hood River Valley. 

By E. L. Smith, President State Board of Horticulture, Hood River, Eastern Oregon . 

I believe the following is a close approximation for an orchard of 
ten acres: 

480 trees planted in squares 30 x 30 feet, at ten cents each_$ 48 00 
Digging holes and planting 480 trees, at six cents each__ 28 80 
Cultivating with spring-tooth harrow three times 

each way, one year, eight days, at $3.50 $ 28 00 

Cultivating with weed exterminator, twice each 

way, one year, four days, at $3.50 14 00 

Pruning, average per year 20 00 

Hoeing about base of, trees 10 00 

Resetting trees, etc . 5 00 

Total for one year $ 77 00 

Cost for four years , 308 00 

Add plowing and cultivating second and third year 40 00 

Grand total to five years $424 80 

This estimate on the supposition that the ground was plowed, har- 
rowed, and ready for planting. No estimate is made for spraying, as 
it is believed that the fruit the fourth year will fully cover that ex- 
pense. I have not made an allowance for interest on value of land or 
for taxes, as no general rule can be followed, both varying greatly. 

The fifth year the orchard will pay expenses and usually leave a 
margin of profit. Last year, 1903, a young seven year old orchard of 
fifteen acres, paid me a profit of $100 per acre, not deducting interest 
and taxes. 




V 

§ 

c 
o 
en 



Horticulture in Oregon. 25 

Estimated Cost of a Vineyard — Willamette Valley. 
By Wilber K. Newell, Dilley, West Side. 

The expense of starting- a vineyard is large, and should be well 
considered before planting". 

Land, per acre $ 50 00 

Plowing-, good and deep 2 50 

Harrowing ; 1 00 

Digging holes 15 00 

Stakes 8 00 

Planting. .__ 12 00 

Eight hundred vines, at four cents each 32 00 

Cultivating first season, eight times 8 00 

Hoeing twice 3 00 

Tieing to stakes and pinching back laterals 4 00 

Total $135 50 

SECOND YEAR. 

Pruning in winter $ 2 50 

Plowing, cultivating, hoeing, and for season 20 00 22 50 

Total - I! $158 00 

THIRD YEAR — TRELLIS WILL COST: 

Wire $ 5 00 

Posts 22 50 

Setting posts and stretching wire 15 00 

$42 00 

Pruning, cultivation, etc., for season 25 00 67 00 

Grand total L__l': $225 00 

These figures are certainly as low as good work can be done for. It 
is generally considered that an acre of grapes in full bearing has cost 
very nearly $500 ; but as the crop should pay its own way after the 
third year, I do not count the expense beyond that time. Grapes 
should be in full bearing at eight or nine years, and with proper care 
continue for fifty or one hundred years, so there is ample compensa- 
tion for the heavy expense of getting started. 

A fair, average yield per acre would be about four tons. If it falls 
below three tons there is something seriously wrong with the grower 
or his vineyard. It is hard to find more delightful work than the care 
of a vineyard, and where there is a family it is an ideal occupation. 



26 Horticulture in Oregon. 

All the foregoing estimates are by actual fruit growers, who make 
their living by growing fruits, and are not mere theorists, to which I 
may add my own testimony, that the net profits from my prune orchard 
ranged from one hundred dollars to two hundred dollars per acre, ac- 
cording to the price for the evaporated product. My pear orchard 
never netted me less than $110 per acre, my apple and cherry trees 
doing much better than either, possibly because they are older. 

Before leaving this subject I want to say a few words about berries 
and their culture. Every orchardist should grow berries by way of 
diversified fruit growing, or as a by-product, so to speak. The labor 
and harvest coming before the larger fruits come into market and 
require all the fruit grower's attention. They come into market when 
the farmer has little else to sell and bring in ready cash at a time 
when the exchequer is liable to be pretty low. 

The demand for berries has never been fully supplied, especially of 
raspberries, blackberries, and currants, followed by the strawberry, 
for shipping to the distant markets. All berries do well here, as is 
evidenced by the fact that wild berries grow to perfection and in great 
abundance and variety in Oregon. We might name as profitable ber- 
ries the currant, gooseberry, blackberry, raspberry, Lucretia dew- 
berry, mulberry, cranberry, strawberry, Loganberry in the various 
varieties. It is not necessary to enter into the detail of soil, care, 
planting, and varieties most profitable, as this information can be had 
to the minutest detail from the fifth, sixth, and seventh reports of the 
State Board of Horiculture. First of all, farmers everywhere should 
grow berries for family use. Farmers must grow berries or do with- 
out. No one can grow them so cheaply -as he. He gets them at first 
cost, fresh from the vine, and to the extent of his own family, has the 
best market in the world — a home market. He can select the best 
land location on his own farm, and is sure of a profit with half a crop. 
The growing of berries for family use is easily done. The growing of 
berries on a large scale and for market, either for city use, shipment, 
or cannery establishments, requires more care, skill, and business tact. 
The growing of berries offers a special field for women who are de- 
pendant upon their own efforts for support of self and possibly a fam - 
ily. Our large cities, adjacent mining regions, and canning establish- 
ments offer excellent markets for berries at remunerative prices. 

MARKETS. 

The natural question following, and perhaps the first one to be asked 
by the intending orchardist and intelligent investor is, -'Where will 



Horticulture in Oregon. 27 

you find a market for all this fruit ?" a very pertinent question to ask, 
and one which requires an honest reply. 

For some years past, as a member of the State Board of Horticulture, 
I have been convinced that this board should enlarge its scope of use- 
fulness by reaching out to seek reliable information regarding the 
fruit crops in other States likely to come into competition with our 
own fruits in the world's markets, as well as to seek new fields for our 
own choice fruits. With this object in view, I entered into corre- 
spondence with the experiment stations, State boards ot horticulture, 
horticultural societies, and the principal fruit growers and dealers 
throughout the United States, as well as the American consuls in all 
the various fruit growing districts in Germany, France, England, Rus- 
sia, Austria, Hungary, Turkey, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Holland, 
Chinese Empire, and Japan. 

The subject of markets is perhaps the most serious problem con- 
fronting the fruit grower, and when we look over the large area that 
has been planted to fruit, and is still being planted throughout the 
fruit districts of the United States and Canada, we can not help specu- 
lating what to do with all these fruits, especially in a good fruit year. 

There is perhaps no fruit which is more universally planted than 
the apple, owing to the fact that the apple is par excellence the com- 
mercial fruit of the world, and if it were not for the further fact that 
winter apples and apples which stand ocean transportation are grown 
comparatively in few localities, we would soon become overstocked. 
Oregon is especially favored in this respect, as the apples grown in 
this State have not only excellent keeping qualities, but are well 
adapted for ocean transportation. 

By reason of these investigations Eastern dealers became familiar 
with our fruits, which now are to be found in all the larger cities of 
America and Canada, but my main efforts were directed to foreign 
markets, being a larger and more profitable field, and in which we 
have succeeded admirably, as will be seen by market quotations and 
sales given later on. 

My attention was first drawn to this matter when the Chamber of 
Commerce of Portland honored me as a delegate to the Nicaragua 
Canal Convention, which was held in New Orleans in November, 1892, 
and there in conversation with representatives from South American 
Republics, I learned that these would be a good market for northern- 
grown fruits, if freight rates could be arranged. Again my attention 
was called to it in a letter I received from the American Consul in 



Horticulture in Oregon. 29 

Manchester, England, stating- that a lot of Rogue- River apples had 
found their way there, and that finer apples were never seen, and 
buyers wanted to contract for the entire output of this man's crop, 
which was four thousand boxes in 1898, and all were shipped to that 
point. In this connection the New York Journal of Commerce says: 
"A large increase in the shipment of Pacific Coast apples abroad by 
way of New York is a noteworthy feature of the fruit trade, and is 
exciting no little interest; large quantities of Newtown Pippins in 
boxes weighing fifty pounds net, grown on the Pacific Coast, princi- 
pally in Oregon, have been sent to this city of late, in carload lots, 
and from New York have been sent directly -abroad." But it is not 
England alone, there is a growing market in Germany and France for 
our fruit. My advices from consuls and clerks are very enthusiastic and 
encouraging. Mr. Cunningham, Consul in Chemnatz, Germany, a large 
manufacturing center, writes to me: "I wish I had time to detail to 
you the desires of the people here for our fruits. Germans hunger for 
our fruits— apples before all others, etc." In France we have a prom- 
ising market for our Oregon (Italian) prunes and for apple "chops." 
Mr. Joseph I. Brittain, Consul at Nantes, France, writes to me: "There 
is a large demand for evaporated apples, known as 'chops.' These 
apples, which are the lowest grades of windfalls, are sliced thin and 
dried, including skins, seeds, and core. They are packed in plain 
barrels. The poorer classes use large quantities of these apples for 
making an apple wine, known as 'piquette.' Last season one firm im- 
ported twelve thousand barrels of apple chops, at a cost of seven cents 
per pound." Mr. Albion W. Tourgee, Consul at Bordeaux, France, 
says in this connection, that two years ago thirty-five million gallons 
of this piquette were used, which increased to fifty million gallons 
last year; and as it takes one pound of chops to one gallon of piquette, 
it means fifty million pounds of apple chops, or twenty-five hundred 
carloads. And so are all other reports of foreign States, many stating* 
that instead of exporting as heretofore, they were now importing 
more and more each season. There is also a market for our French 
prunes, Petite d'Agen. Shortly after my return from Japan last fall, 
Mr. Martineau, representing the firm of A. E. Mouling, Bordeaux, 
France, called on me regarding the purchase of prunes, and in our 
conversation I learned that he wanted the French prune as grown 
here, saying that he could not use the California French prune, as 
they were sundried. He preferred our "evaporated" French prune.-. 
as being more like their own; in fact were sold in France as the French 



30 Horticulture in Oregon. 

product. Latest advices from Berlin, Germany, say: "In view of the 
circular sent by the German government to the chambers of commerce 
and other bodies, inquiring- as to the desirability of a duty on fruit, 
the Society of Hamburg- Fruit Dealers, has adopted a resolution de- 
claring emphatically that American fruit is indispensable there, and 
protesting energetically against a duty." To illustrate how this 
European market has developed, I may state that in the season 1899- 
1900, the Pacific Goast— principally Oregon — shipped via New York 
149,515 boxes of apples, distributed among foreign ports as follows: 

To Liverpool 58, 922 boxes 

To London 70, 724 boxes 

To Glasgow 13.118 boxes 

To Hamburg L 4,826 boxes 

To Hull 1,925 boxes 

These apples brought in the English markets an average price of 
eleven shillings per box, according to variety and condition, and in 
the German markets twelve marks — being about three dollars per box. 
This demand increased from year to year, until it has reached ship- 
ments over four hundred and fifty thousand boxes to Europe the past 
season. The entire output for the year 1903 in Oregon was: 

Apples . $ 640,000 

Pears . 148,500 

Prunes 900,000 

Peaches 75,000 

Cherries 36,01 H I 

Grapes 50, 01 K ; 

Strawberries and other small fruits (552.500 

Grand total $2,501,000 

In addition to these markets, we have the Orient, not only our new 
acquisitions of Hawaai and Philippine Islands, but Japan, China, and 
Russian possessions. 

Hon. W. H. Seward, in a speech delivered in the United States 
Senate as far back as 1852, said: "The Pacific Ocean, its shores, its 
islands, and the vast region beyond, will become the chief theatre of 
events in the world's great hereafter." 

This hereafter is here rig/it now, perhaps much sooner than this great 
statesman anticipated, but he did not know then that he was stand- 
ing at the threshold of an electrical age, where events pass with light- 
ning rapidity, and what is new to-day is old to-morrow. The new fields 
opened out to us offer an exceptional opportunity for the promoter. 



Horticulture in Oregon. 31 

The first authentic statistics we have showing' the exportation of 
fresh fruits to Oriental markets is the year 1898, and were as follows: 
British East India, $12,346; British Australia, $260,611; other Asiatic 
possessions and Oceanica, $147,151; Hong- Kong, $67,718; other parts 
of China, $23,761; Japan, $22,713. These exports have more than quad- 
rupled since. In conversation with the various American consuls, 
especially in Japan, they assured me repeatedly that the demand and 
consumption for our fruits was increasing steadily. While at Yoko- 
hama I saw five-tier apples sold at five and six dollars per box; at 
Kobe an inferior lot in damaged condition brought $3.50 per box, so 
eager were those people for our fresh apples, and yet these latter 
boxes of apples would not have sold for fifty cents here. All these 
are markets of great importance, which should and must be cultivated, 
and as we have little or no competition, they are practically our own. 
I am firmly convinced that in these districts alone there is a field for 
operation that will absorb all the surplus fruit raised in the Pacific 
Northwest. But in reaching out for these foreign markets, we must 
concentrate our strength, ship only first-class fruits, honestly graded, 
honestly packed, and honestly labeled. To do otherwise, is commercial 
suicide. 

In a recent address at a fruit growers' convention the President of 
the State Horticultural Society of Oregon said: "Looking over the 
whole State, then, may we not summarize and add that among the 
varied resources of the great commonwealth' of Oregon, potent in its 
capacity for contributing to the National development of the State to 
its proper position as one of the foremost States in the Union, it is not 
at all too much to say that fruit growing, if not destined to take the 
first rank, is certainly capable of being expanded into the equal of any. 
Neither Oregon's forests, its mines, its fisheries, its farms, dairies, 
cattle ranges, sheep walks, nor its manufactories will, in their future 
growth, be entitled to outrank its orchards if proper methods are 
adopted by the horticulturists of the State." 

"Here, under the peculiar climatic conditions by which we are sur- 
rounded, blessed as we are by fertile and responsive soil, is, as has been 
fully demonstrated, the natural habitat of the apple, the pear, the 
quince, the plum and the prune, in all its varieties. Here, in select 
localities, flourish the peach, the apricot, the almond and walnut. 
Here, under intelligently considered conditions, the grape, the fig, 
the pomegranate, the medlar pear, the Japanese persimmon grow to 
maturity, ripen and become useful and agreeable adjuncts of the farm 



32 Horticulture in Oregon. 

and home. Melons and berries are at home here ; and in short, it may 
be said that, excepting- the citrus and semi-tropical fruits, Oregon 
offers to the fruit grower an exceptionally attractive field for the ex- 
ercise of all his faculties in this important and most attractive branch 
of business of the tiller of the soil." 

I am firmly of the opinion that with our new acquisitions in the 
Orient, the markets of Japan and China now fairly opened to us, and 
that as soon as the Panama canal is finished, in the construction and 
completion of which we here in Oregon are particularly interested, it 
will bring about great results for the Oregon farmer and fruit grower. 
Meats have been transported in cold-storage steamers through all 
climes and to every land, and so will our fresh fruits. Tramp steamers 
which are now traversing our seas in every direction, seeking cargoes 
from everywhere to anywhere, will crowd our docks, eager to carry 
our fresh fruits to the markets of the world, and competition will make 
freights low enough to allow a good margin to the grower. 

Those having orchards, or who are now planting, or contemplate 
planting, will certainly be largely benefited when this great canal, this 
missing link, this National maritime highway, which is an imperative 
necessity for the Pacific Northwest, opening to the Mexican Gulf, to 
the entire Mississippi Valley and the States on the Atlantic seaboard, 
not only the reciprocal interchange among ourselves, but the whole 
commercial world, shall be completed, the practicability of which is 
conceded by all who have given the question any thought. 

A properly planted out apple orchard, considering the best market- 
able varieties, and all other essential elements entering into it to make 
it a success, yes, even a prune orchard as a good second, offers today 
a better field for investment of money and brains than any other com- 
mercial enterprise, with the additional advantage of living close to 
nature, as our Creator intended for us to live, with its outdoor, health- 
ful, life-giving exercise and ideal existence. 

Oregon offers all these advantages and is capable of furnishing- 
happy and contented homes in regions of beautiful and majestic land- 
scape, and unsurpassed climate for millions of people, and which in 
our just estimation will be the richest operating field of the brain and 
sinew of the rising generation, the yeoman of our National supremacy. 
Let it be remembered that a happy and prosperous citizenship is the 
controlling force and the reserve power of our government, and all 
that contributes to the general welfare and happiness of the citizens, 
strengthens the bulwarks of our enduring nationality. 




Cherry Tree 



LiDMAHY UF CONGRESS € 



021 489 226 1 

LEWIS AND CLARK'S EXPLORATION 

Its National Achievement 

Captains Meriwether 
Lewis and William 
Clark were the first Amer- 
icans who reached the Pa- 
cific Ocean overland. They 
headed an expedition sent 
out by President Thomas 
Jefferson in 1803, which 
reached the mouth of the 
Columbia River in 1805. The 
Pacific West will celebrate 
at Portland in 1905 the Cen- 
tenary of this National 
Event with an American- 
Pacific Exposition and Ori- 
ental Fair. 

The discovery of t he Great 

River of the West by Captain 

Robert Gray in 1792 and the 

expedition of Lewis and 

Clark in 1803-6, added to our 

National domain a region 

equaling in extent the whole 

of the States of the Union east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio and 

Potomac rivers. It is a region destined to be the seat of a population of twenty 

millions within this century. 

The original "Oregon Country" now contains three of the States of the Union 
—Oregon, Washington, and Idaho— and very extensive parts of Montana and 
Wyoming. It was the acquisition of this region that gave the United States 
its First Footing on the Pacific Ocean and opened the way to our great 
continental development. In political importance the acquisition of the Oregon 
Country stand among the greatest events in our National history. 
For further information address 

RiREAi of Publicity 

Lewis and Clark Fair 

portland, oregon, u. s. a. 





wan 



Meriwether Le 



The Original "Oregon Country, 




Lewis and Clark won it for the U. S. in 1805. 
{Copyright 1903 by Lewis and Clark Exposition Co.) 



